Mad

Eloise

Eloise yawned as she sat up in bed. Glancing at the clock in her room, she realised that it was just past one in the afternoon. Eloise frowned. Her mother typically never let her children sleep in late. She expected all of her children to be dressed and ready to break their fast at nine o'clock. She must have made an exception for her and Penelope due to their late night at the opera. Eloise had insisted that Penelope sleep at their house for the night as it was indeed quite late when they got back. Eloise looked over to the side of the bed that Penelope had slept on and found it to be empty.

Groaning and rubbing her eyes, Eloise got out of bed and slowly meandered towards the small sitting room just outside her bedroom. "Penelope?" called Eloise sleepily.

"I'm here," she heard Penelope call back softly. Eloise soon found her friend sitting at her writing desk next to the window that looked out the back of the house to the small garden.

"How are you already dressed and ready for the day Pen?" said Eloise as she sat rather indelicately on the sofa. Penelope was dressed in a soft yellow morning dress. She missed seeing Penelope in yellow. She did not wear it as often now that she had taken over control of her wardrobe from her mother.

"I could not sleep so I just decided that it would be better if I started on the column. I hope that you do not mind that I did not wake you. You were sleeping so peacefully," said Penelope as she continued to write.

Eloise knew that sleeping peacefully was Penelope's euphemism that she had been snoring and that Penelope had been unable to sleep.

"Oh dear, did I keep you up?" asked Eloise.

Penelope smiled as her quill floated along the page. " A little," she admitted. "But I could not really sleep, too many thoughts running around in my mind. I could not seem to settle."

"Do you think that you will have the column finished today?" asked Eloise before yawning once more.

"Yes, I am nearly done. I was planning on delivering the column to Madame Delacroix's this afternoon and hopefully it will be delivered promptly and be published by tomorrow morning."

"Can I read it?" asked Eloise. She and Penelope had come to an agreement several months ago that they were to have no secrets from each other and that Eloise was to help Penelope with the column. Eloise had been listening for gossip and had been editing the columns as well, offering advice when she saw fit.

"Of course," said Penelope as she handed Eloise her writings. "Be careful, the ink is not yet dry on some of the pages," she warned.

Eloise began to read. Most of the article seemed to be about her brother Anthony and how happy he and Kate looked. She laughed when she read about how Miss Rosso was staring at Anthony throughout her entire performance while Anthony had paid his previous paramour no heed, having only eyes for Kate, his beloved wife.

"If this does not stop Miss Rosso from chasing my brother, I do not know what will," said Eloise. "The column is excellent Pen, although it appears to be missing some scintillating gossip."

"What did I miss? Did you hear something that I did not?" asked Penelope as she joined Eloise on the sofa.

"Pen! You know that besides Anthony and Kate you and Colin were all anyone could talk about. I heard a number of young ladies whispering about your dress and how beautiful it was and how jealous they were to see you on Colin's arm."

Penelope looked at Eloise skeptically. "Perhaps they were looking at my dress. Madame Delacroix's newest designs are truly breathtaking," Penelope admitted. "But I doubt anyone thought anything about me and Colin. Everyone reads Lady Whistledown. We all know what he said about me last season."